Letter to Chairman Lamar Alexander and Ranking Member Patty Murray - Calliing Attention to DeVos' Stonewalling of Information on Campaign Finance Violations

Letter

Enclosed are copies of letters sent to Secretary-designate DeVos on December 12 and January 6 addressing the record $5.3 million fine her political action committee received in 2008 that remains unpaid. Mrs. DeVos has not responded to either letter.

While not all senators will agree on what issues are relevant in considering a nominee's fitness for office, we believe everyone can agree that nominees should be responsive to inquiries made in furtherance of our constitutional duty to provide advice and consent. Unfortunately, Mrs. DeVos has not only refused to ensure that her organization pays fines for campaign finance law violations, but she has also refused to answer questions about the incident posed by five senators, including a member of your committee.

Mrs. DeVos's hearing is scheduled for today at 5:00 p.m. We ask that you direct her to either ensure the entire fine is paid to the state of Ohio or that she provide substantive responses to our letter of January 6 prior to a vote on her nomination in your committee.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.